Meth-Fueled Florida Man Survives Alligator Attack, Then Dies Attacking Cops
A Florida man tweaking on meth died in a hail of gunfire after attacking police who were trying to help him — just moments after he survived an alligator attack.
Timothy Patrick Schulz, 42, was shot by sheriff’s deputies after he emerged from an alligator-infested lake in Lakeland.
Schulz then confronted the officers and attempted to grab the shotgun from their running patrol car, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
He had just been released from the Polk County Jail after being booked for possession of meth.
Authorities confirmed he had a long history of drug-related arrests.
“This is just crazy stuff, Ok?” Judd told reporters this week.
“You know that it’s got to be true. You can’t make it up.”
Deputies were alerted after a convenience store clerk reported a man acting strangely and asking to call his son, according to authorities.
Later, residents saw a man swimming in a lake known to contain multiple alligators.
One witness attempted to throw him a life preserver, while another tried to talk to him — only to receive a growl in return.
An alligator bit Schulz on the arm, but he managed to break free.
When deputies arrived, Schulz waded out of the lake and grabbed a pair of garden shears.
He then charged at the deputies, prompting them to deploy a stun gun — which had no effect.
“They were still trying to take him in peacefully,” the sheriff told reporters.
“The fact that he was bitten by an alligator and still continued his rampage is shocking.”
Schulz then bolted toward their running squad car and tried to commandeer the service shotgun that officers carry on patrol.
At that point, deputies opened fire, striking Schulz with bullets that smashed through the windshield of their own cruiser.
Sheriff Judd blamed Schulz’s erratic behavior on methamphetamine, stating the drug often causes users to become violent and irrational.
“If you’re on enough meth,” he said.
“Then the person you see is not the person that’s attacking.“
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